Incheon seeks a rebound in the second half with 'various attack combinations' Spring and Autumn K-League]
In the 2022 season, Incheon ranked fourth in the K League 1 and qualified for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL). Incheon's rise last season seemed to continue into the 2023 season.
Incheon, which has become a "strong team," has thoroughly prepared for this season. Many players have joined Incheon. First, midfielder Moon Ji-hwan, who adds stability to the game, joined after being discharged from Gimcheon Sangmu.
He then recruited K League 1's top midfielder Shin Jin-ho from the Pohang Steelers to strengthen his waistline. He even recruited side striker Jerso, who was responsible for Jeju United's attack, threatening K League 1 teams based on proven resources.
The attackers also faced a new change. The representative player is Chun Sung-hoon. Chun Sung-hoon returned to the team ahead of this season in Augsburg, the German Bundesliga, through the Incheon youth team. Chun Sung-hoon has become Incheon's main striker with seven goals in 13 official games this season.
Incheon dreamed of an "emergency" this season with new strikers.
Incheon suffered from 'empty air' early this season
Incheon United striker Hernandez
Incheon United scored only 18 points in 19 games in the first half of this season. It was ranked 10th among 12 teams in the K League 1.
Incheon manager Cho Sung-hwan has been worried about scoring since the beginning of the season. Various combinations of offense were set up to score. At the beginning of the season, Hernandez and Chun Sung-hoon led the attack. Since then, he has played in various combinations, including two strikers, Hernandez and Gersault, Hong Si-hoo and Song Si-woo. But the results were not good.
In the 19th round against the Pohang Steelers, young striker Kim Min-seok, born in 2002, started. Coach Cho said, "I can't help but pay attention to the mandatory participation clause for players under the age of 22," adding, "But I don't necessarily participate in the game because of the participation clause." Hernandez and Gersault will be deployed in the second half. The weather has become quite hot. It is a decision to strategically operate the team," he said.
Several combinations were attempted, but the 'empty' remained. Striker Hernandez is a case in point. Unlike last season, Hernandez's ability to produce offensive points has significantly decreased this season. Hernandez, who joined Incheon through the summer transfer market in the 2022 season, scored four goals and four assists in eight K-League 1 games last season.
But it was different this season. Hernandez has six goals and four assists in 25 games this season.
Incheon Attack Starts Spitting Fire After Mugosa Joins
Gersault has scored five goals and five assists since Mugosa joined the team
On July 10, Incheon recruited Montenegrin national soccer team striker Stefan Mugosa, who played for Vissel Kobe in the J1 League in Japan.
Mugosa's return to "parent" has been a year. Mugosa joined Incheon in the 2018 season. Mugosa had 68 points and 10 assists in 129 games in Incheon by the middle of the 2022 season. Mugosa played a pivotal role in the Incheon attack.
Mugosa has established himself as a representative striker of the league beyond the team by receiving the K League 1 Player of the Month award in September 2020 and February-March and April 2022 respectively. From the 2019 season to the 2021 season, he was nominated for the Best 11 Strikers category of the K League season for three consecutive seasons.
Based on his performance in Incheon, Mugosa ranked second in Montenegro's Player of the Year award in 2018 and first in Montenegro's Player of the Year award in 2019, respectively, becoming a key striker in his country.
Mugosa scored one goal and two assists in four ACL matches against K League 1 after moving to Incheon. With Mugosa's joining, Incheon's attackers began to shoot fire.
Gersault is a case in point. Gersault has led Incheon's offense with five goals and five assists in seven games since joining Mugosa. Chun Sung-hoon and Hernandez also scored one goal each in the ACL PO Haiphong match.
Mugosa, Hernandez, Hong Si-hoo, Kim Dae Jung, and Chun Sung-hoon, who are heading for Incheon's "legend," are competing for the front-line striker position.
What would Incheon's most scorer Chun Sung-hoon think of this "competitive structure".
"Of course, I think everyone should compete," Chun Sung-hoon said. "When you get a fair chance from an equal position, it's natural to come down from the main player if you don't prove it." "I don't care much about competition," he added. "I'm trying to play my role silently," he said. 스포츠토토
Incheon, which suffered from "emptiness" at the beginning of the season. All strikers are now on the rise. Depending on how you take the combination of strikers, Incheon's "rebound" in the second half of the year depends.